Tech settles with government

Health Sciences Center to pay $2.3 million in overbilling case

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center has agreed to pay $2.3 million to settle allegations by the U.S. Justice Department that the school overbilled Medicare and Medicaid payments in 1994-95.

As a result of the settlement, the Justice Department will not pursue any further action against the university. The repayment will be made in cash this week, HSC President David Smith said Monday.

Smith said the school discovered and reported the erroneous payments and was not fraudulently or criminally at fault.

''It is true that we did the audit voluntarily on our own part,'' Smith said. ''We did prevail in federal court to put us out of false claims. There was no evidence of wrongdoing (or) never any criminal allegations.

The payments were made after the university charged for physician services that the government said did not actually involve faculty physicians.

The services were billed during a 15-month period from September 1994 to December 1995.

Smith said the payments occurred because of an ambiguous method for reporting services.

A resident physician signed reports to record services performed, but the reports also had to be countersigned by a faculty member, Smith said.

''It's not that the services weren't provided. It's the level of supervision in the reporting. The standard of reporting is ambiguous, and the federal government even admitted that,'' Smith said.

Smith said the $2.3 million will come from a reserve fund that was established for the specific purpose of repaying the government. He said no penalty or interest was assessed.

The investigation began after a 1995 false-claims lawsuit brought by a resident dermatology physician.

The case was dismissed, but the claims were reviewed by other federal agencies, and the settlement was negotiated with the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Dallas.